The unwanted presence of rats, mice, and other rodents is an ongoing problem in many environments such as residential settings, waste disposal structures, and food processing facilities. Rodents can create unpleasant odors, damage stored furniture and clothing, contaminate food, and carry disease. Consequently, a number of approaches have been used or proposed to end and/or prevent rodent problems.
Poisons and traps have been used as means of rodent control. Poisons are placed where they will be ingested by invading rodents. Poisons are inappropriate for use in food preparation and storage areas and, more generally, storage and use locations must be carefully chosen to ensure that poisons are not accessible to pets or children. Users must find poisoned rodents, if they travel away from the poison site before dying, and dispose of their bodies. Traps tend to be less dangerous than poisons but still must be placed away from children and pets. By their nature, traps typically prevent rodents from leaving the trap site and users must dispose of the trapped rodents.
Sonic- and scent-based repellents have also been used as means of preventing rodent infestations. Sonic repellents include devices that generate sound waves at frequencies offensive to rats and mice. These devices are typically electrically powered. Some scent-based repellents use predator urine from species including coyote, fox, bobcat, wolf, and mountain lion to deter prey animals from entering a specific area. Users can fill dispensers with predator urine and place them around the perimeter of the specific area, for example.